"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"

Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour

Friday, July 31, 2015

Aubrie Starr to Get Right Heart Catheter September 1st

Aubrie is scheduled to be in Levine's Children's Hospital, Charlotte, North Carolina, September 1st.

She will be sedated and receive a right heart catheter.

Because of the risks she faces having pulmonary hypertension and using anesthesia she will be accompanied by two cardiology anesthesiologists.

We do not know yet if she will be admitted to Levines or released the same day that will be determined during and after her procedure.

Please keep her in your prayers leading up to this day. Pray God will give us clear results. That we will get clarification we need about the true conditions of her lungs.

With every PH child a RHC is dangerous; please pray for her safety and God be with each Dr, nurse and staff member involved in her care.

Thank you all for your prayers, help and support thus far!

Please put a picture of Aubrie somewhere where you will see it and pray for her each time you do.

Judge Sees Nothing Sinister in Purchase of Ricin on Darknet

Enough ricin to kill 1400 people
Toy Lamborghini loaded with ricin
Jihad Watch
He just wanted to get some ricin, you know, to have it around. Don’t you have some in the cookie jar? He just “wanted to know what the fuss was about.” Isn’t that completely plausible? Didn’t you buy some bubonic plague-carrying rats last year, just to see “what the fuss was about”? Let this poor Man of Peace off!

“Shocking pictures show how computer whizz hid ‘deadly ricin’ capable of killing 1,400 inside toy Lamborghini supercar,” by Richard Wheatstone, Mirror, July 29, 2015 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

Mohammed Ali, 31, attempted to purchase the chemical weapon over the ‘dark web’ from his home in Liverpool.

But the software programmer didn’t realise that his supplier was an FBI agent who tipped off police in the UK and sent him harmless powder.

Under the username Weirdos 0000, Ali struck a deal with a supplier on the internet black market to buy 500mg of powder for £320 – enough to kill 1,400 people.

The dad-of-two took delivery of the powder stashed inside five vials hidden inside a battery compartment. Police then swooped on his home and arrested him under anti-terror laws.

Ultraviolet light revealed Ali had handled the package which had been laced with a marker substance.

Ali held his head in his hands as he was found guilty of attempting to have a chemical weapon in his possession at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.

He will be sentenced in September and faces a lengthy spell behind bars. Or does he?

The court heard Ali approached the undercover agent in January with a private message: “Hi, would you be able to make me some ricin and send it to the UK?”

In a series of encrypted chats they discussed the price of a lethal dose, discounts for bulk orders and repeat purchases, and ricin’s “shelf life”, jurors were told.

In his defence, Ali told jurors that he was just “curious” and wanted to test the boundaries of the Dark Web unaware that ricin was illegal.

If he was unaware that ricin was illegal, why was he trying to purchase it on the Darknet, why not the regular net?

He told the jury: “I was interested in the Dark Net and ricin. I just wanted to know what the fuss was about.[“]

OK, he knew there was a 'fuss' about ricin, but didn't know it was illegal. How logical is that?

But prosecutor Sally Howes QC said Ali was a “chancer” who lied to police about having ricin when he was arrested in the hope that he would “get away with it”.

And everything about his conduct pointed to a man who carefully and meticulously researched and carried out a plan to buy ricin.

Ms Howes told the jury that ricin was the “perfect poison” because it killed without leaving a trace in the body. Ali had ordered enough to kill up to 1,400 people, although his potential targets were not known.

Justice Saunders said: “There is no evidence that he was planning any sort of terrorist attack.

“There is also no evidence that he had in mind any specific victims for ricin. I do not accept he was going to dispose of it.

“I’m satisfied it would have remained in his possession in some way and that is the basis on which I propose to sentence.”…

Justice Saunders give your head a shake! What was he going to do with the ricin, study it? He's a computer geek, not a chemist. Why would you want something so extremely deadly around your house when you have two kids? Just for fun? I sure hope you wake up before sentencing this man.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

ISIS Plans Massive Attack in India and Provoke “End of the World” - “Armageddon,”

They're also planning an “Apocalyptic Confrontation” 
with America
   
"The caliphate will take over the entire globe and 
behead every last person who rebels against Allah"

By PAMELA GELLER 
A recruitment document has revealed the Islamic State’s (ISIS) “grand ambition” to ignite a war in India, build a new terror army in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and provoke an Armageddon-like “end of the world” situation.

The document also urges the world to ‘swallow the bitter truth’ that the caliphate will survive and prosper until it takes over the entire globe and beheads every last person who rebels against Allah.

Obama’s response? His Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson said — wait for it — that the government will call such attacks “violent extremism” over “Islamic terrorism” out of respect for the Muslim community. Jeh Johnson  announced this policy mandate at a national security conference on July 23.

Be afraid, my fellow Americans.

Reporter: “Why do you, and the Obama Administration, describe this as violent extremism and not – and refuse to use the phrase – Islamic extremism?”

Johnson responded, “I believe strongly – and I hear this over and over again from Muslim leaders in this country – that to refer to ISIL as ‘Islamic extremism’ concedes too much. It dignifies them as occupying some part of the Islamic faith, which is about peace.” Really, he pulled out that old line.

He further stated, “And so if you call it ‘Islamic anything,’ uh, we are dignifying this terrorist organization with occupying a part of the Islamic faith which Muslims in this country I know, push back very strongly on,” Johnson said. “So If I went into these [Muslim] communities calling it ‘Islamic extremism,’ I’d get nowhere.”

ISIS has no part in the Islamic faith. Even though their leader is a Muslim Scholar; even though they practice Sharia law; even though they follow the Quran to the letter; even though they venerate Mohammed; even though Muslims from all over the world travel to join them. How is that not Islam?

Read either of my blogs; it won't take long before you find a story where the 'religion of peace' brutally murders someone for looking in the wrong direction, or for pointing out their hypocrisy, or for refusing to marry a 60 year old man when you're an 11 year old girl. 

Every day thousands of little girls become child brides often at the cost of extraordinary pain for giving birth before they are 13 years old. Every day thousands of little girls suffer genital mutilation, usually without anesthetic.

In January, Raif Badawi was lashed 50 times - the first 50 of 1000 he was sentenced to. The damage it caused to his health has left him too ill to stand anymore lashes since. That's in Saudi Arabia, not exactly a 3rd world country. Will the Saudis let him go under great international pressure? No, he was also sentenced to 10 years in prison, so they will just wait until he is well enough to resume the lashes. His heinous crime - opening debates online on religion and politics. 

That is a religion of peace? Peace must have changed its meaning since I went to school!

Lizza pushed back, “Isn’t the government denying the fundamental religious component of this kind of extremism by not using the word, ‘Islamic’? To some people, it sounds like political correctness.” To most people, really.

“I could not disagree more,” Johnson retorted.

Johnson then went on to state the alternative to identifying Islamic terror as Islamic:

“And so here domestically, I think it’s critical that in order to build our relationships and build our level of cooperation with the Islamic community here. Um, we have to say to them ‘Look, we understand that what this depraved terrorist organization is doing is no part of your religion.”

Above is Pamela Geller's rant with thoughts from me injected in purple italics

The actual story from Business Standard

“New ISIS document reveals ‘grand plan’ to wage war in India, trigger ‘Armageddon,'” 

A recruitment document retrieved from Pakistan’s lawless tribal lands has revealed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) ‘grand ambition’ to ignite a war in India, build a new terror army in Pakistan and Afghanistan and provoke an Armageddon-like ‘end of the world’ situation.

The 32-page-document, titled ‘A Brief History of the Islamic State Caliphate (ISC),’ has been obtained by American Media Institute (AMI), and says that ‘The Caliphate, according to the Prophet’, seeks to unite various terror factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan into a single army, the USA Today reports.

The document, which highlights a ‘never-before-seen’ history of the ISIS, describes future battle plans and urges Al Qaeda to join the group. It says that the self-styled Islamic State leader should be recognised as the sole ruler of the world’s one billion-strong Muslim population under a religious empire called, ‘caliphate’.

It also warns that ‘preparations’ are on for an attack in India and predicts that an attack will provoke an ‘apocalyptic confrontation’ with America.

The document also urges the world to ‘swallow the bitter truth’ that the caliphate will survive and prosper until it takes over the entire globe and beheads every last person who rebels against Allah.

U.S. officials are concerned about the recruiting efforts of the ISIS, as the group has stepped up its online outreach.

Confronted with efforts by the Islamic State to inspire Americans to commit violence, the F.B.I. in recent months has apprehended people suspected of being Islamic State sympathizers soon after they came onto the government’s radar.

The F.B.I. has arrested and charged at least 25 people in the past three months with having ties to the Islamic State or other terrorist groups, compared with 20 people arrested over the previous year, according to court records.

The revelation came after former Punjab DGP K P S Gill claimed that the terror attack that took place in Gurdaspur, Punjab recently was carried out under the umbrella of the ISIS.

Terrorist attack, Gurdaspur, Punjab; terrorists linked to ISIS
At least six people were killed and nine injured after three terrorists, who were armed with mortars and night-vision devices, apart from AK-47s, crossed the Ravi on the border and came to Dinanagar by taking the route to the railway track.

The GPS devices showed they were activated at Talwandi Point in Gurdaspur’s Parmanand village and their next target was civil lines in Gurdaspur town, around 25 km from Dinanagar.

MH370: Plane Wreckage Found in Indian Ocean Being Tested - Updated

Update: 30 July 2015

Manufacturing numbers on the piece of wreckage found on Reunion Island is identified as from a Boeing 777.

Also, there is no record of a Boeing 777 ever crashing anywhere in the southern hemisphere.

And, because the wreckage floats, it could have carried on the east to west currents between Australia and Africa for thousands of miles. Barnacles growing on it indicate that it had been in the water for at least a year. MH370 disappeared 15 months ago.

A fragment of luggage also washed up onshore.

So, it appears the wing-part was from MH370, which almost certainly confirms that it crashed in the ocean, but we are not much closer to finding the main wreckage than before. Backtracking currents may provide searchers with an intersecting arc to narrow the search area, but that has yet to be seen.

Police inspect the debris washed up on the island of Reunion
From BBC Asia

French officials are investigating whether plane wreckage that washed up on an Indian Ocean island is from missing flight MH370.

The debris, apparently a wing flap, was found on French-owned Reunion.

An aviation security expert said it had "incredible similarities" to a flap from a Boeing 777, the type of plane that vanished in March 2014.

Malaysian Air MH370
But the island is a huge distance from the plane's search area and there have been other crashes much closer.

No part of the Malaysian Airlines flight has ever been found. It disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Aviation expert Xavier Tytelman said a code on the plane would be examined, promising a "definitive answer" on whether there was a link in a few days.

Police carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found on
the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion
French air transport officials are investigating the mysterious two-metre-long piece of wreckage
Australian investigators, who are leading the hunt, are also reported to be in touch with manufacturers over the find.

But a member of the French Air Force cautioned it was "way too soon" to say if it was from the missing flight, according to CNN.

Search teams have been focusing on a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq mile) area off the coast of Western Australia, where it is believed to have crashed.

Reunion lies some 6,000 km (3,730 miles) to the west, off the coast of Madagascar.

Reunion is an unlikely place for MH370 debris to appear,
but one never knows
It remains a mystery what happened to the plane, which vanished after turning away from its north-bound route from Kuala Lumpur.

Did MH370 have the range to reach Reunion? 

Yes, 777s have a range of about 6000 miles, while Reunion is about 3000 miles from Kuala Lumpur. MH370 could have reached well into Africa. However, the plane would have had to fly almost directly over the island of Maritius before getting close to Reunion. It should have been noticed, especially if it was losing altitude.

A number of theories have been proposed as to what happened to MH370, you can read some of them here

NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA WILL KEEP IRAN SANCTIONS

Yesterday, Iranian news stated that Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper was alone in the universe for not agreeing to lift sanctions against Iran. Today, he's not alone. Two of the most powerful states in the U.S. have come out and stated that they will keep state-sanctions in place against the insane and obscenely ambitious sponsor of terror.


by JOEL B. POLLAK
Breitbart
The States of New York and California have no intention of complying with the Iran deal’s requirement that state and local governments lift their own sanctions against the Iranian regime.

As Breitbart News first reported last week, and the Wall Street Journal confirmed Monday, states have the constitutional authority to retain their existing sanctions against Iran, or even to apply new ones, because President Barack Obama decided to impose the Iran deal as an executive agreement without any federal enabling legislation that would override state laws.

“We will do everything in the world not to support the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism,” said Democrat Dov Hikind, a New York State Assemblyman, speaking to Breitbart News on Monday.

Hikind said that while he was “cautiously optimistic” that Congress would have the votes to override President Obama’s expected veto and reject the Iran deal, he was also confident that New York would keep tough sanctions in place against Iran. New York, like 29 other states, has passed divestment laws that prevent the state from investing public funds in Iran.

In addition, New York is one of about a dozen states with laws that prevent the state and local governments from entering into contracts with companies that do extensive business in Iran’s energy sector.

The New York Iran Divestment Act of 2012 requires the state to maintain a blacklist of companies that are excluded. Many of the same companies are specifically granted sanctions relief by the Iran deal, which also provides (p. 15) that the U.S. must “take appropriate steps” to reverse “law[s] at the state or local level” that interfere with “sanctions lifting.”

Hikind told Breitbart News that he was confident that the Governor Andrew Cuomo would not yield in the face of pressure from the Obama administration. (The governor’s office did not return a request for comment. A spokesperson from the New York Department of Financial Services told Breitbart News: “We have a general policy of not commenting on ongoing enforcement matters.”) Hikind added that sanctions could be dropped when the Iranian regime had changed significantly, such that it no longer supported terrorism against the U.S. and Israel.

California is also unlikely to drop its sanctions against Iran, according to Republican Assemblyman Joel Anderson of Alpine, who introduced the Public Divest from Iran Act, which was signed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. The law “requires that two conditions are met before we can resume investment,” Anderson told Breitbart News via e-mail on Monday. “Neither have been met to date.”

Those two conditions, according to the bill’s text, are 1) that “Iran is removed from the United States Department of State’s list of countries that have been determined to repeatedly provide support for acts of international terrorism,” and 2) that “the President of the United States determines and certifies to the appropriate committee of the Congress of the United States that Iran has ceased its efforts to design, develop, manufacture, or acquire a nuclear explosive device or related materials and technology.” Neither of those conditions is likely to be met soon.

State sanctions against Iran were passed over the past several years to complement and expand federal and international sanctions. They enjoyed strong bipartisan support in many cases, building on public opposition to the Iranian regime. The California law, for example, passed the State Assembly and the State Senate unanimously.

That is why despite pressure from the Obama administration to back the Iran deal, New York and California are just two of many states that are unlikely to comply, though both are reliably “blue” and led by Democrats at every level of state government. (A recent CNN poll also shows that the majority of Americans want Congress to reject the Iran deal.)

It is possible that resistance by the states could scuttle the agreement, since it specifies that Iran will treat “an imposition of new nuclear-related sanctions, as grounds to cease performing its commitments.” As constitutional lawyers David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey argue in the Journal, states have the power to add new sanctions, thanks to the “lawless” way in which President Obama has structured the Iran deal. And as law professor William Jacobson argues, states ought to push back: “In opposing the deal, and all of the above strategy is warranted.”

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Canada: Muslims Planned to Infiltrate Synagogue, Murder Jewish Children

John Nuttall and Amanda Korody
BY ROBERT SPENCER
Jihad Watch

Where did these converts to Islam get the idea that murdering Jews would be pleasing to Allah? Are Canadian authorities investigating that question, or are they content to wave such questions away with the claim that they were “radicalized on the Internet”?

“Accused B.C. terrorist aimed to kill ‘small Jews’ 
to save them from hell: trial,” 

by Geordon Omand, The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER – A woman found guilty of helping to mastermind a terrorist bomb plot wanted to infiltrate a synagogue and kill “small Jews” to save the children from going to hell, a court has heard.

Police notes presented in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday recounted Amanda Korody’s husband John Nuttall telling an undercover officer that his wife believed she would be doing Jewish children a favour by sending them to paradise, since she believed “grown-up Jews” go to “eternal hell” when they die.

“I asked Nuttall how he thinks he will have access to Jewish kids and he said they were both white and could pass for Jewish,” Crown lawyer Sharon Steele read from the undercover RCMP officer’s notes, dated from March 2013.

“They will be regulars in the synagogue. They will gain the trust of everybody. And once they have everything they will get enough guns and ammo to go ahead with their mission.”

Nuttall acknowledged that Jewish children were non-combatants but explained that they would be raised to hate Arabs and Muslims, wrote the undercover officer. However, Nuttall eventually conceded that “you never know, they may convert (to Islam) in their adulthood.”

Nuttall and Korody were found guilty of plotting to detonate homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the B.C. legislature during Canada Day celebrations two years ago.

Lawyers for the self-described Muslim converts are in court arguing that the RCMP entrapped the pair through an elaborate, months-long undercover sting operation.

“Self-described Muslim converts”? Odd locution. Apparently the Canadian Press is skeptical about their conversion to Islam since everyone knows that Islam is a Religion of Peace and that True Muslims would never get involved in something like killing Jews.

The court heard that Canada’s spy agency sent a brief disclosure letter to the RCMP in late 2012, identifying Nuttall as a possible threat.

Police had already confronted Nuttall on a number of occasions by then, including after his friend reported that the suspect claimed to have shot a Jewish woman.…

Canada is such a long way from recognizing the jihadi nature of young Muslims. They are not good, peaceful citizens like some of their parents. The younger generation is more religious than their parents and are quite easily radicalized. The death and destruction they will cause in the near future will just continue to increase, especially if we continue to close our eyes and believe what is so obviously untrue: Islam is a religion of peace.

The diabolic nature of Islam is quite frightening. They teach thing like: killing unbelievers will earn you Paradise, dying while killing unbelievers is even better, and doing it during Ramadan is even better still.

Korody's desire to save Israeli children from Hell,  if true, means she would have murdered perhaps dozens of children out of the 'goodness' of her heart. How do you argue with a religion like that? How do you guard your children from them? It's sheer madness!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Obama's Plea for Gay Rights Summarily Rejected by Kenya

Kenya Rejects Obama's Gay Rights Lecture

By Dale Hurd
CBN News Sr. Reporter

President Barack Obama is in Ethiopia Monday, the first sitting American president to visit East Africa's second most populous nation. He's holding talks with Ethiopian and African Union leaders on counterterrorism, human rights, and regional security.

President Kenyatta, you're my hero today
Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Obama
Obama wrapped up a two-day visit to Kenya Sunday, where he urged leaders in his father's homeland to root out corruption, treat women and minorities as equals, and protect the rights of homosexuals.

"I've been consistent all across Africa on this," the president said. "I believe in the principle of treating people equally under the law, and that they are deserving of equal protection under the law and that the state should not discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation."

But in a tense exchange, Kenya's president rejected Obama's message on gay rights, saying it was one value Christian Kenya does not share with the United States.

"The fact of the matter is that Kenya, the United States, we share so many values, but there are some things that we must admit we don't share -- our culture, our society don't accept," President Uhuru Kenyatta said.

"This is why I repeatedly say that for Kenyans today, the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue," he continued. "We want to focus on other areas that are day-to-day living for our people."

In Kenya, homosexual relations carry a punishment of imprisonment. In this overwhelmingly Christian nation, many residents shrugged off the U.S. president's lecture on gay rights.

"Of course, the way President Obama talked about gays and what have you, lesbianism or transgender, whatever, according to him, you know, we took him as an American. He was answering like an American," Nairobi resident Ibrahim Lincoln said. "But according to our African cultures, the Christian beliefs -- we say no."

The world gets crazier everyday. Now we have African countries appearing more moral and Christian than the United States. Weird, eh? Kudos to President Kenyatta for not being intimidated by President Obama.

Denmark Publishes Reduced Benefits to Dissuade Asylum Seekers

Denmark, the only EU country that's awake!

In response to human traffickers publishing information about lucrative refugee benefits in EU countries, the Danish government plans to launch a public campaign designed to dissuade asylum seekers from heading to Copenhagen.


Integration Minister Inger Støjberg said earlier this week she is going to run advertisements in foreign newspapers, which will include information deterring refugees from coming to Denmark.

The announcement was made shortly after Denmark's Jyllands-Posten daily published a document people traffickers use to help asylum seekers compare different levels of welfare benefits in Europe.

According to the Local, the document revealed monthly waiting times for family reunification and the amount of monthly benefits available to refugees in prosperous EU nations, including Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

“Of course, living conditions – including finances – is something asylum seekers are looking for. Why else would human smugglers have developed and published this systematic review of countries, including Denmark, on a website where they provide services based on this kind of information,” Støjberg wrote in a Facebook post that featured a screenshot of the document.

Benefits Cut
The integration minister said the document justified the government's decision to cut benefits for refugees by up to 45 percent. 

“There is something strange about the fact that a refugee would travel through several countries before ending up in Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Germany,” Minister Støjberg told DR TV, according to the Local.

In an attempt to counter the Danish refugee deluge, special ads will be introduced in newspapers, featuring “factual information” on the benefits, as well as details of the new restrictions the government plans to enact. “That kind of information spreads very quickly,” the minister said. She added the campaign could be potentially run in countries such as Turkey and “other places that human smugglers keep an eye on.”

Last week, a similar idea was voiced by the Danish People’s Party (part of the new coalition governing the country), which suggested launching a video campaign dissuading asylum seekers from coming. But the proposal came under fire, leading Venstre spokesman Jakob Ellemann-Jensen to dismiss the idea as “un-Danish," the Local reported.

Asylum seekers doubled
Denmark saw its asylum numbers almost double last year, with 14,815 people arriving in 2014 compared to 7,557 in 2013. The number of asylum seekers had increased from 6,184 in 2012 to 7,557 in 2013, according to the Danish Immigration Service. 

Mexico's Search for Missing Students Turns up 60 Graves, 129 Bodies, No Answers

Authorities believe 43 students turned over to cartel, 
murdered and remains incinerated
The Associated Press 
A demonstrator, with a 4 and a 3 written on the palm of her hands, takes part in a
march to mark the ten-month anniversary of the Ayotzinapa students'
disappearance, in Mexico City, Mexico (Reuters)
The search for 43 missing college students in the southern state of Guerrero has turned up at least 60 clandestine graves and 129 bodies over the last 10 months, Mexico's attorney general's office says.

None of the remains has been connected to the youths who disappeared after a clash with police in the city of Iguala on Sept. 26, and authorities do not believe any will be.

Prosecutors say the students were turned over to a drug gang that killed them and incinerated their bodies in a case that has put attention on the huge number of people who have gone missing in Guerrero and other Mexican states where drug violence is widespread.

Mexico's investigation into missing students has gaping holes, rights group says
Mexico's changing drug war: Can activism succeed where the army can't?
Mexico's missing students: Argentine experts doubt official story
Iguala massacre: Mexico says 43 students were murdered on cartel orders

The number of bodies and graves found from October to May could possibly be higher than in its report, the attorney general's office said, because its response to a freedom of information request from The Associated Press covers only those instances in which its mass grave specialists got involved.

Federal authorities began turning up unmarked graves after beginning an investigation into the disappearance of the 43 young men following the confrontation between students and police that resulted in six confirmed deaths in Iguala, a municipality of 120,000 people 200 kilometres south of Mexico City.

More than 20,000 people are listed as missing across Mexico, and there are many "disappeared" in Guerrero, a state that is a major opium producer and the battleground among several cartels warring over territory and drug smuggling routes. The government has said there is no evidence the 43 students were involved in the drug trade, but says they were mistaken for a rival gang.

They were mistaken??? The police arrested them in a bus! Have you ever seen a drug gang travel by bus? The police were acting on orders from the Mayor and his wife when they arrested the protesting students; they knew exactly who the students were. 

Iguala mayor and wife, arrested in Mexico City slum
This is a very disturbing direction for the government to be taking. They should be arresting the police and their superiors who were involved - who know darn well who they handed the students over to. They also should have been arrested. 

Is Mexico now completely under control of the drug-lords? Is there any hope it can ever be cleaned up? Not much, I think.

Many people are questioning the government's version of happened to the students, including parents and the National Human Rights Commission, which last week issued a report outlining at least 30 omissions in the investigation that would help determine the youths' fate. Some were very basic investigation procedures that were never performed.

On Sunday, a few hundred people led by parents of the missing youths marched in Mexico City to call for justice in the case. Demonstrations have been held on the 26th of each month since the incident.

Of the 129 remains found in the graves, 112 were men, 20 women and the rest are undetermined, according to the information released by the attorney general's office. Authorities listed only 16 of the remains as identified as of July 13.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Swedish Jihadi: “Go There with a Bomb”

Gatestone Institute

One month of Islam in Sweden: June 2015

“Muslims in Sweden will become more and more degraded … so instead of putting on a T-shirt and going to the most hated place for Allah just to stand there and do dawah [missionize], you should go there with a bomb instead. … Now is the time to show who the earth belongs to!!! … Save yourself from narr [hellfire] by killing a kafir.Mikael SkrÃ¥mo, Swedish convert to Islam.


“Why are these attacks happening during Ramadan? It’s because the jihadis don’t view the violence as something unholy. If the violence is happening for God’s sake and according to the rules Islam is perceived to decree, it is in fact a holy action. To the jihadis, this type of holy violence is more meritorious in God’s eyes than fasting, prayer and charity. … In the hadith, jihad in the month of Ramadan is portrayed as giving extra glory.” Mohamed Omar, poet and social commentator.

“The situation in the suburbs is a disaster for Sweden.”Mona Sahlin, national coordinator of the struggle against violent extremists.

A Swedish-Norwegian convert to Islam, Mikael Skråmo, is urging Muslims to commit terrorist acts in Sweden. Skråmo wrote on his Facebook page:

“Muslims in Sweden will become more and more degraded … so instead of putting on a T-shirt and going to the most hated place for Allah, just to stand there and do dawah [missionize] you should go there with a bomb instead. … Download Inspire Magazine, start making bombs from simple stuff you can buy at whatever Ica and Coop [stores], you choose. Now is the time to show who the earth belongs to!!!”

Malmo is a over 20% Muslim.

Sweden’s 3rd largest city hit by multiple blasts,
police plead for help to tackle violence spike ,” RT, July 26,2015
Four grenade attacks this week have rocked Malmo, the third largest city in Sweden, prompting police to sound an alarm over the increasing violence. Multiple explosions, shootings and arson struck the city, which has a large migrant population.

On Sunday, the southern Swedish city of Malmo saw the fourth grenade attack in under a week as the a hand grenade was detonated in a car park in the district of Värnhem in the morning, local media reported.

The attack came after a blast on Friday in the Solbacken neighborhood, which occurred less than 12 hours after another explosion in the residential area of Limhamn in the west, and two days after a car bomb attack that injured a man outside a community center in the south.

“It is the thirtieth explosive attack since the New Year. We have a situation that is serious,” said the Malmö police chief, Stefan Sintéus, about the explosion on Friday, as quoted by the Local.se on Saturday.

That's an average of more than once a week. Several occurred during Ramadan. But then, Ramadan is a Swedish tradition, I hear.

The local police have called for expert help from the national police operational department. “We have asked for shared expertise on various issues,” said Lars Förstell, a spokesperson for the city’s police, as quoted by the media.

This week’s unrest continues a series of numerous shootings, explosions and arsons that have occurred since the beginning of the year in Malmo, infamous for high crime rates, multi-ethnic and gang-related violence.

'Severe' Terrorism Threat Alert Doesn't Impress Some Brits

Britain is facing an "unprecedented" threat from hundreds of battle-hardened jihadists who have been trained in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, according to MI5, the domestic counter-intelligence and security agency. It warns that are now more Britons trained in terrorism than at any point in recent memory.

Nasser Muthana (center) is one of over 700 British Muslims who have travelled
to Syria and Iraq to wage jihad. He is pictured speaking in an
English-language ISIS recruitment video.
More than 700 Britons are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq, according to British authorities. Over half of these Britons are thought to have since returned home, where they pose a significant threat to national security.

Britain's terrorism threat alert is at the second-highest level of "severe," meaning an attack is "highly likely."

MI5's warnings are included in a major new report on the regulation of surveillance powers. Also known as the Anderson Report, the 380-page document was written by the UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC. The report states:

"MI5 has pointed out some of the recent factors which reinforce their concerns about the terrorist threat. Terrorist related arrests are up 35% compared to 2010. The number who have travelled to Syria and undertaken terrorist training since 2012 is already higher than has been seen in other 21st century theatres, such as Pakistan/Afghanistan, East Africa and Yemen.

"The threat posed on their return comprises not just attack planning but radicalization of associates, facilitation and fundraising, all of which further exacerbate the threat. The number of UK-linked individuals who are involved in or been exposed to terrorist training and fighting is higher than it has been at any point since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. MI5 regard this aspect of the threat as unprecedented. Some travelers were previously unknown to MI5.

"The volume and accessibility of extremist propaganda has increased. UK-based extremists are able to talk directly to ISIL fighters and their wives in web forums and on social media. The key risk is that this propaganda is able to inspire individuals to undertake attacks without ever traveling to Syria or Iraq. Through these media outputs, ISIL have driven the increase in unsophisticated attack methodology seen in recent months in Australia, France and Canada.

The report reveals that MI5 has successfully disrupted two attack plots by lone wolves in the past nine months, both in the late stages of preparation. According to MI5, "identifying such individuals is increasingly challenging, exacerbated by the current limitations in their technical capabilities."

Separately, the UK's lead police officer on counter-terrorism, Mark Rowley, announced the latest arrest figures — nearly one every day — which underline the scale of the challenge British police are facing to tackle the jihadist threat.

According to Rowley, there were a record 338 arrests for terrorism-related offenses in the last financial year (April 2014 to March 2015), a 33% increase on the 254 arrests in the previous year. He said that 157 (46%) of the arrests were linked to Syria, and 56 were under 20 years of age, an "emerging trend."

Rowley said that 79% of those arrested were British nationals and 11% were female. He added that 50% of the arrests were made in London and that roughly 50% of those arrested were later charged (up from around 40% in previous years). The arrests ranged from fundraising for jihadist groups to facilitation, preparation and execution of terrorist attack plans.

Rowley also said that each week the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), which assesses terrorist and violent extremist material on the Internet, removes on average over 1,000 pieces of content that breaches the Terrorism Act 2006. Approximately 800 of these items are related to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and are posted on multiple platforms. According to Rowley:

"ISIL and other terrorist groups are trying to direct attacks in the UK; encouraging British citizens to travel to Syria to fight and train; and are seeking, through propaganda, to provoke individuals in the UK to carry out violent attacks here."

"There is no doubt of the horrific nature of the offenses being committed overseas. The influence of those who wish to bring similar violence to the streets of the UK has been an increasing threat here. The rise in level of activity is matched by increased action by police and security services, who are currently working on hundreds of active investigations. We cannot be complacent."

Meanwhile, Britain's most senior Muslim police officer, Scotland Yard commander Mak Chishty, has warned that Islamist propaganda is so potent that it is influencing children as young as five, and that many more British Muslims are likely to end up being lured into becoming jihadists either at home or abroad.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Chishty said there was an urgent need to "move into the private space" of Muslims to prevent youth from becoming radicalized. He called on friends and family to intervene much earlier, and to watch for subtle changes in behavior, including expressions of anti-Western sentiment. He said:

"We need to now be less precious about the private space. This is not about us invading private thoughts, but acknowledging that it is in these private spaces where this [extremism] first germinates. The purpose of private-space intervention is to engage, explore, explain, educate or eradicate. Hate and extremism is not acceptable in our society, and if people cannot be educated, then hate and harmful extremism must be eradicated through all lawful means."

Chishty defined "private space" as "anything from walking down the road, looking at a mobile, to someone in a bedroom surfing the net, to someone in a shisha cafe talking about things."

Chishty said that jihadist propaganda is so powerful that he fears his own children might be vulnerable. He said his message to fellow Muslim parents was: "I am not immunized. If I feel the need to be extra vigilant, then I think you need to feel the need to be extra vigilant."

Referring to three teenage girls from a school in Bethnal Green, east London, who slipped away from their families in February to join the Islamic State in Syria, he said he found it impossible to believe the claims by their families that there had been no clues that the girls were becoming radicalized. "My view as a parent is there must have been signs," he said.


According to Chishty, current counter-radicalization strategies are not working. "We are in unchartered water.... We are facing a risk, a threat which is global, which is powerfully driven by social media, reaching you on your own through your mobile phone."

Some of Chishty's ideas highlight the challenge of finding a balance between confronting jihadist propaganda and criminalizing free speech.

A new Counter-Extremism Bill — which the government says is needed to combat groups and individuals who "undermine British values" — is facing mounting criticism that it is too draconian.

The new legislation would introduce so-called Banning Orders for extremist groups that seek to "undermine democracy or use hate speech in public places." It would also give the government new powers to restrict individuals who seek to radicalize youth, and powers to close premises where extremists seek to influence others.

The bill would strengthen the powers of the Charity Commission to root out charities that misappropriate funds towards extremism and terrorism. It would also place immigration restrictions on extremists, and strengthen the ability of Ofcom, the communications regulator, to take action against channels that broadcast extremist content.

Anjem Choudary
The legislation is partly aimed at providing the government with the tools needed to silence Islamic extremists such as Anjem Choudary, who has long called for the implementation of Islamic Sharia law in Britain. Although Choudary is believed to have inspired dozens of young British Muslims to carry out violence in the name of Islam, his training as a lawyer has helped him to stay one step ahead of the law and out of prison.

But the new bill is facing stiff opposition from a variety of individuals who fear the bill will give too much power to the state.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Haras Rafiq, the director of the Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremism think tank, said the new bill would "do the very things the extremists want us to. With these Orwellian, totalitarian powers, we are playing into their hands." He added:

"It is very noticeable that the main Islamist groups are not really up in arms about this. They want it, because it will feed the narrative of grievance and victimhood they love. They will be able to use it to say, look, we told you so."

Rafiq described the proposed powers as "ridiculous" and "unworkable" and said that even if they survived the passage through Parliament, they would be struck down by the courts. "That will be embarrassing and a victory for the extremists," he said.

The Telegraph also reported that senior government advisors are opposed to the bill. A counter-extremism specialist at the Home Office's de-radicalization program, Rashad Ali, said:

"You can't protect democracy by undermining democracy. The Government is obsessed with legislation but this is not something you can defeat by legislation. It is a battle of ideas and we have to defeat these ideas by argument, not by banning even having the debate. What we need, far more than any new law, is a counter-argument and a policy which can inspire [Muslim] society to defeat extremist ideas."

The former foreign office minister and shadow home secretary David Davis said that "restricting free speech, and forcing those who hold views inimical to our own into the shadows, is an authoritarian act that will only serve to further alienate those susceptible to extremist views."

The government's new Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, in a leaked letter to Home Secretary Theresa May, warned that the law would turn Ofcom into a state "censor."

Alan Craig, the leader of a campaign against the proposed "London Olympic mega-mosque" at West Ham, is also opposed to the new bill. He said:

"David Cameron seems to think that banning orders, extremist disruption orders and draconian laws are the way to tackle Choudary's ideological venom. But such legislation simply endangers the UK's democratic liberties and freedom of speech. It is far better openly to expose — and mock — the fictitious fabricated roots of Choudary's fundamentalist ideology. It is this way that Choudary will slowly but surely lose his malign influence over so many impressionable young minds."

British Prime Minister David Cameron has defended the bill. "For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens: as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone," he said. "It's often meant we have stood neutral between different values. And that's helped foster a narrative of extremism and grievance." He added:

"This government will conclusively turn the page on this failed approach. As the party of one nation, we will govern as one nation, and bring our country together. That means actively promoting certain values... And it means confronting head-on the poisonous Islamist extremist ideology. Whether they are violent in their means or not, we must make it impossible for the extremists to succeed."

The bill's passage is not a foregone conclusion. Cameron's new government has a majority of just 10 MPs in the House of Commons, and holds 228 of the 787 seats in the House of Lords. MPs are likely to propose and debate amendments to the government's proposals.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

The Funniest, Scariest Video You Will Ever See

This is probably the funniest video clip you have ever seen in your life.

It may also be the saddest and scariest.

It originated from Iran television where a talk-show guest is 'discussing' the Iran nuclear deal.

You have to see it to believe it.


Watch it here


Comments anyone?

Does The Discovery of Earth 2.0 Mark The End of Religion?

Just a day after the discovery of Earth 2.0, a 'scientist' is already anticipating the death of religion. Good grief!

by Benjamin L. Corey 
Patheos Press
Image of Kepler-452b, via NASA
Yesterday NASA made the announcement that they finally discovered something many have pondered: the existence of an Earth-like planet. The above illustration shows Kepler 452b, a planet somewhat larger than Earth but within the habitable zone of its star. Its year is almost identical to that of our own planet, and the amount of energy received from its sun is near identical as well– meaning if there’s life out there similar to our own, this is the kind of place where it’s happening. This discovery tells us two things: (a) Earth-like planets that host all the building blocks for life are probably relatively common in the universe, and (b) life may very well be relatively common in the universe also.

Umm, couldn't that have been assumed before the discovery of Kepler-452b? There are an almost infinite number of stars in the sky, there must be an almost infinite number of planets as well. It only makes sense. The only real question is whether their numbers are 'almost' infinite or 'totally' infinite. Why would God create such an incredibly vast universe and leave it empty of life?

Discoveries like this are incredibly exciting, but are they bad news for God? Do they spell the end of religion? That’s precisely what scientist Jeff Schweitzer is arguing. In fact, he seems to think the discovery of extraterrestrial life would single-handedly strike down some of the world’s major religions if they were not re-written to accommodate such a discovery:

 “I would like here to preempt what will certainly be a re-write of history on the part of the world’s major religions. I predict with great confidence that all will come out and say such a discovery is completely consistent with religious teachings. My goal here is to declare this as nonsense before it happens.”

How does Schweitzer prove that extraterrestrial life is inconsistent with religion? Well, he goes straight to the Hebrew book of Genesis:

“Let us be clear that the Bible is unambiguous about creation: the earth is the center of the universe, only humans were made in the image of god, and all life was created in six days. All life in all the heavens. In six days. So when we discover that life exists or existed elsewhere in our solar system or on a planet orbiting another star in the Milky Way, or in a planetary system in another galaxy, we will see a huge effort to square that circle with amazing twists of logic and contorted justifications. But do not buy the inevitable historical edits: life on another planet is completely incompatible with religious tradition. Any other conclusion is nothing but ex-post facto rationalization to preserve the myth…”

Quoting Genesis 1:1 he notes,
“Nothing in that mentions alien worlds, which of course the ancients knew nothing about. Man was told to rule over the fish on the earth, not on other planets. But god would have known of these alien worlds, so it is curious he did not instruct the authors to include the language.”

He goes onto argue that the omission of alien life would require anyone without a closed mind to basically wash their hands of the Bible:

“None of the 66 books of the bible [sic] make any reference to life other than that created by god here on earth in that six-day period. If we discover life elsewhere, one must admit that is an oversight. So much so in fact that such a discovery must to all but the most closed minds call into question the entire story of creation, and anything that follows from that story. How could a convincing story of life’s creation leave out life? Even if the story is meant to be allegorical, the omission of life elsewhere makes no sense.”

While Schweitzer begins the piece by saying alien life would be a problem for religion in general, his entire argument is based upon the creation account in Genesis, so what he’s really saying is it is a problem for the three religions who worship the God of Abraham and share that creation account (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). But is he right?

No, he’s not. The discovery of alien life will not be the end of any of the three Abrahamic faiths, nor will it require all but the closed-minded to leave.

If I understand his arguments, it seems he’s arguing the following: if alien life exists but is not mentioned in the creation poem, such a creation account is either (a) factually wrong or (b) contains an omission which would prove it were not inspired by God.

The irony of the argument brings up an important point that I’ve seen not infrequently: some atheists and fundamentalists often insist on reading the Bible the same way, yet both sides think the other is stupid for doing so. And this is precisely what Schweitzer is doing: he’s taking a fundamentalist view of Genesis and arguing that it would all fall apart with the scientific discovery of extraterrestrial life. (In fact, he’s actually going one step beyond fundamentalism and arguing that if the creation account omits any information, it is wrong.)

In praxis it looks like this:
Fundamentalist: This is what the text says. If it did not happen exactly the way it is recorded, it is not true. Therefore, it must be true.
Atheist: This is what the text says. If it did not happen exactly the way it is recorded, it is not true. Therefore, you’d have to be closed-minded to believe it.

It’s the same hermeneutical approach on both sides. It imports the same modern assumptions on how we tell history versus how ancients told stories, and assumes being “inspired by God” means the text must answer modern questions instead of ancient ones. Whether approaching it from the atheist side or that of the fundamentalist, it’s a rather unenlightening way to approach these ancient stories.

Most Evangelical Christians believe that Christ is returning for the Millennial Reign, soon. Events happening around the world in the past 25 years powerfully strengthen that belief. If, as so many of us believe, He returns soon, it is likely to be before intelligent life is discovered anywhere else in the universe. His presence will then supersede Scripture. Consequently, it would be completely unnecessary to include such a topic as extra-terrestrial life in Scripture because no-one would experience it during the period of the greatest influence of Scripture.

Imagine if God had included everything He created in the Creation account; it would be so large, I doubt any of us would live long enough to be able to read it.

C.S. Lewis once said, rather sarcastically, "if you don't know how to read grown-up books, then you shouldn't comment on them".

Our religion only falls apart if you hold Schweitzer’s assumptions: the creation account is a true account of creation and if something is omitted, the account is wrong. I don’t know many who actually hold to this position, so I would imagine the collapse of religion predicted would be relatively small.

In the end, I would be thrilled if they discover (as I already anticipate is true) that life is actually common in the universe. This will not shake my faith at all. This will not require me to become closed-minded and abandon the entire Christian narrative.

Instead, it would invite me to begin asking bigger questions about God and bigger questions about creation.

And as someone who loves asking questions about God, I welcome the opportunity.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr Update 23 July 2015


Aubrie saw her cardiologist today.

She will be having another right heart catheter before the end of August. After talking with the doctor I have decided that the catheter lab physicians will not be putting a pin hole in Aubries left atrium; I am not comfortable with the risks. This is a procedure she may receive in the future but I told them not now, not yet, not until I feel it really is something that would benefit her more than put her at risk for more complications.

We are still waiting to get physical therapy setup as well as speech therapy. I am hoping these will move along quickly and be started soon.

Aubrie will be due for a follow up appt in Cinncinati before the end of the year. We have began raising funds to help us travel and cover medical expenses and lost wages. Anything will help. 

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.

Iran Execution Rates Approaching ISIS Levels

The majority of those killed in 2015 were 
convicted of drug charges
BBC Middle East

There has been an "unprecedented spike" in the number of executions in Iran, Amnesty International has warned.

The rights group said it believed 694 people were killed between 1 January and 15 July, almost three times the figure acknowledged by the authorities.

It said credible reports suggested Iran executed at least 743 people in 2014.

Amnesty said the surge was disturbing as the death sentences were invariably imposed by courts "completely lacking in independence and impartiality".

"They are imposed either for vaguely worded or overly broad offences, or acts that should not be criminalised at all, let alone attract the death penalty," it added.

"Trials in Iran are deeply flawed, detainees are often denied access to lawyers, and there are inadequate procedures for appeal, pardon and commutation."

'Climate of fear'
As of 15 July 2015, the Iranian authorities had officially acknowledged 246 judicial executions this year but Amnesty International said it had received reports of a further 448 executions.
If confirmed, that would be the equivalent to more than three a day.


In 2014, 289 people were executed according to official sources but reports suggested that the real figure was at least 743, the group added.

"Iran's staggering execution toll for the first half of this year paints a sinister picture of the machinery of the state carrying out premeditated, judicially-sanctioned killings on a mass scale," said Said Boumedouha, deputy director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa programme.

He added: "The use of the death penalty is always abhorrent, but it raises additional concerns in a country like Iran where trials are blatantly unfair."

Amnesty said the reasons behind the surge in executions were unclear, but that the majority of those killed in 2015 were convicted of drug charges.

"The [Iranian] authorities have confirmed that around 80% of executions are for these [drugs] offences," Amnesty researcher Raha Bahreini told the BBC.

Iran's anti-narcotics law provides mandatory death sentences for a range of drug-related offences, including trafficking more than 5kg (11lbs) of narcotics derived from opium or more than 30g (1oz) of heroin, morphine, cocaine or their chemical derivatives.

Iranian Kurds protest in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil against
the execution of Kurdish rebels in Iran (31 October 2013)
Among those executed are members of ethnic and religious minorities

Amnesty said this was in direct breach of international law, which restricts the use of the death penalty to only the "most serious crimes" - those involving intentional killing.

"For years, Iranian authorities have used the death penalty to spread a climate of fear in a misguided effort to combat drug trafficking, yet there is not a shred of evidence to show that this is an effective method of tackling crime," Mr Boumedouha said.

Among those executed are members of ethnic and religious minorities convicted of "enmity against God" and "corruption on earth", including Kurdish political prisoners and Sunni Muslims.

Amnesty said that several thousand people were believed to be on death row on Iran. In many cases, they are notified that they will be executed only a few hours beforehand. The families of those executed are sometimes informed days, if not weeks, later.

3 executions per day - that's got to be close to ISIS levels. If they will do that to their own people, how bad will they be if they get control of Syria, or Lebanon, or Yemen? 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

EU Court Hammers Italy for Refusing Gays the Right to be Married

Italy violates human rights by failing to offer enough legal protection for same-sex couples, a European court has ruled.

What if you replace 'lesbian' with 'pedophile'?
Would that be any different?
Judges said the government had breached the rights of three gay couples by refusing them marriage or any other recognised form of union.

Italy is the only major Western European country with no civil partnerships or gay marriage.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has long promised to pass a law on civil unions.

By failing to introduce new legislation, his government failed to "provide for the core needs relevant to a couple in a stable committed relationship," the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday.

The court said Italy was in breach of Article 8 - the right to respect for private and family life - of the European Convention on Human Rights.

A small number of municipalities in Italy allow local civil unions, but there is a national ban on same-sex marriage and the benefits of the existing provision are limited.

Hundreds of thousands of people attended a march against gay marriage in June
The court said the existing legal protection was "not sufficiently reliable".

It noted that 24 out of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe had passed laws in favour of legal recognition, and that the Italian constitutional court had repeatedly called for such protection and recognition.

The three couples in the case have been together for years, and all had their requests to be married rejected.

The ECHR ruled that the Italian government should pay the six men €5,000 (£3,500; $5,500) each in compensation, as well as expenses.

The prime minister has said his government would introduce laws on same-sex civil unions this year.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Rome in June against the proposed legislation.

But opinion polls show an increase in support for gay marriage.

It follows a pattern seen in Ireland - a strongly Catholic country like Italy - where voters overwhelmingly backed legalising same-sex marriages in May.

Afterwards, a senior Vatican official said Ireland's referendum result was a "defeat for humanity".

Will Italy follow Ireland in its hell-bent race toward cultural suicide? No doubt!

UK is Denying Refuge to Christians Fleeing Isil, say Church Leaders


Charity launches petition with backing of Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, calling on the Government to provide a safe haven for Christians fleeing jihadi tyranny in Syria

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury,
led criticism aimed at the Government
 Photo: Andrew Crowley/The Telegraph
Church leaders have accused David Cameron of “turning his back” on Christians facing genocide in Syria and Iraq by failing to offer them refuge in the UK.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, led criticism aimed at the Government for failing to provide a safe haven to Christians trying to flee the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

He will sign a petition that is being launched on Monday calling on the Government to “welcome Christian refugees and give them priority as asylum seekers”.

It comes amid growing concern that the Government is ignoring their plight.

Last week, 42 Christian families were smuggled out of Syria to Beirut and then flown to Poland where they received safe haven. The operation was run by the Barnabas Fund, a charity aiding persecuted Christians, and the Weidenfeld Safe Havens Fund, a Jewish-funded organisation founded by Lord Weidenfeld, the publisher.

More Christians will be evacuated to the Czech Republic and even as far away as Brazil in coming weeks but, according to the organisers, the Government has so far refused requests to relocate Christians in the UK. Lord Carey said last night: “Syrian and Iraqi Christians are being butchered, tortured and enslaved.

“We need the British Government to work with charities like the Barnabas Fund and others to evacuate those who are in desperate fear of their lives.”

Lord Weidenfeld, 95, who fled Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 with the help of British Quakers, said: “Why is it that the Poles and the Czechs are taking in Christian families and yet the British government stands idly by?

“This mood of indifference is reminiscent of the worst phases of appeasement, and may have catastrophic consequences. Europe must awake and the Conservative British Government should be leading from the front.

"Most European governments, especially those that are Christian explicitly or implicitly, are failing in their duty to look after their fellow Christians in their hour of need.”

The petition, launched by the Barnabas Fund, calls on governments to work with Middle East countries and “recognise that Christians are especially targeted and uniquely in need of safe refuge”.

The petition points out that the Christian communities in Syria and in Iraq are among the oldest in the world but that they now face “an existential threat to their survival”.

It adds: “They are being killed, enslaved and persecuted by so-called Islamic State and are forced to flee from their homes. Their homes are being destroyed and they have no safe areas in the region.

“The oppression and persecution of Christians, simply for their faith, is leading many Christians to conclude that they have no choice but to leave.”

The Barnabas Fund claims that just over ten years, the numbers of Christians living in Iraq has plunged from 1.5 million to 300,000 while in Syria it is estimated half a million Christians, out of two million, have fled since the beginning of the current conflict.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, the Barnabas Fund’s international director, said: “With the rise of Islamic State we are seeing what looks set to become a 'genocide’ of Christians in the Middle East, yet the UK has its doors firmly closed.

“So many British Christians have been in contact with us to tell us that they have a spare room or even a second home in which they want to welcome Syrian and Iraqi Christians. Yet our government seems determined to turn its back on some of the most vulnerable people in the world.”

Canon Andrew White, the former vicar of the only Anglican church in Iraq, said: “I really think it is horrendous that the British have not offered refuge to these Christian refugees.”

The Most Rev Justin Welby, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, has expressed his concern over the plight of Christians in Syria and Iraq and has “offered his full support for them being given protection in the UK and in other Western countries”.

David Cameron drew criticism from charities and aid organisations in June after announcing he would “modestly expand” the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the UK by offering “a few hundred more” places.

The Government has declined to show a preference for Christian refugees. It was reported in June that Britain granted entry to 187 Syrians since Theresa May introduced the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme in January 2014.

The Prime Minister said the UK would boost the number of places to resettle the most vulnerable, but Downing Street said the figure would not exceed 1,000.

By comparison, Germany has offered 30,000 places to resettle Syrians, Sweden has committed to resettling 2,700, Switzerland has offered 3,500 places and Austria 1,500.

A source close to the Barnabas Fund said: “The UK government are blocking our evacuations. We are negotiating with governments in eastern Europe and even as far afield as Brazil but the British government is so far not forthcoming.”

I thought Cameron was a professing Christian! Was I wrong?